Ad Orientem

Ad Orientem is an artistic and research project carried out by Projecto Cardo at 12 iconic monuments in the north of Portugal, in partnership with Património Cultural IP, Rota do Românico and ESMAE (Porto School of Music and Performing Arts), and with the financial support of DGArtes and Antena 2.

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Acoustics of venues have an impact on musical performance and listening experience. Portugal is full of beautiful historical monuments with huge potential as venues for cultural programming and for the enrichment and education of the local communities. This project aims to highlight the acoustic richness of our historical heritage, promoting it as a catalyst for the use of this type of space from the perspective of performance.

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In each of the monuments covered by this project, a scientific and empirical analysis of the acoustic behaviour of the space was carried out, as well as of the physical and practical conditions available for professional concerts and recordings; for each monument, a traditional local song was selected for recording with a new arrangement by Cardo-Roxo Ensemble or by a guest composer, and a live concert was performed for the local community.

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All the information gathered, processed and organised by Projecto Cardo’s team is now available on this website in Portuguese and English, for free.

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The web page for each monument is divided into 3 parts:

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• The space - where you may find all the information regarding the physical characteristics of the building that are relevant for musical performance and recording.

• The sound - where you may find all the information related to the behaviour of sound in each space, view the respective scientific acoustic study, and hear and compare the three songs recorded in all 12 spaces. The recordings were all made using the same methodology, keeping the same distances between performers and using the same recording technique (AB Omni 40cm spacing) - more on comparisons. [a]

• The surroundings - where you may find all the information about the location of the monument (e.g. whether it is close to services, noisy or crowded).

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For each of these points, a document has also been produced with detailed information to help musical ensembles choose the ideal venue. It will also allow them to plan how best to use the space available in each monument. Based on the experience of Projecto Cardo’s team at each site, these three fundamental points have also been given scores that reflect in a very clear and straightforward way the physical, acoustic and practical conditions for musical performance and recording at each monument.

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On this website you may also listen to the CD, which brings together all 12 pieces recorded in the different historical monuments, and which basically offers a sound portrait of traditional music from the North of Portugal, at the same time reflecting the influence of space on performance and recording.

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We believe that this project can help value and publicise our tangible and intangible heritage and attract a specialised audience that understands and enjoys the possibilities and beauty of Portuguese heritage.

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We also hope that you find this information useful, and we are at your disposal to help you with anything you need. We can contact the sites for you if you don't wish to do so yourselves or aren’t able to do so through our partners. We also welcome your feedback on the organisation and usefulness of this information. We wish to continue with the project and improve it, keeping it an open endeavour with room for constant adaptation.